The excavations at the Metro C in Rome

October 23, 2017

Archeological finds of the excavation job sites of the Metro Line C in Rome have been recently presented to the press. These finds include two rooms dating back to the 3rd century, during the imperial age, that still have, despite a fire, extensive and well-preserved parts of the wooden attic and of the furniture. The archaeologists are uncovering a black and white floor mosaic, with a double heart-shaped frame. The discovery of wooden parts, even carbonised, that are readable and consistent is a unicum for the city of Rome and extremely rare for such ancient ages.

The excavation area of the “small Pompei” is located on the slopes of Celio, a hill that, during the imperial age, hosted luxurious aristocratic houses and military buildings on its top.

During the excavation, the skeleton of a dog emerged. The dog was crouched down in front of a door and, presumably, got trapped in the building when the fire started. This is a hint of the fact that the building hasn’t been torn down on purpose, but it has collapsed because of the unexpected fire.

The finds were made thanks to the realization of the Compensation Grouting Shaft Q15 at Largo Amba Aradam. This shaft was used to execute the compensation grouting, the technique foreseen as mitigation measure of possible failures of the Mura Aureliane at Porta Metronia, located along the T3 section of the Metro Line C in Rome. The “compensation grouting” intervention consists in the execution of cement grout injections in the ground under the structures’ foundations, with the aim of compensating in real time the failures induced by the realizations of the TBM tunnels.

Trevi executed the plastic and structural piles (1200 millimeters diameter and 34 meters depth) to allow the excavation of the shaft, starting point for the perforations of the “compensation grouting” intervention under the Mura Aureliane.